This copy is for your personal non-commercial use only. To order presentation-ready copies of Toronto Star content for distribution to colleagues, clients or customers, or inquire about permissions/licensing, please go to: www.TorontoStarReprints.com

Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance focuses on swords over stealth

Metal Gear is known for one of the most robust and surreal storylines ever expressed in video games, and Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance continues that legacy.

Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, shown in a trailer screengrab, will be released on Feb. 19 for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. (SCREENGRAB)

By Matt DemersSpecial to the Star

Tues., Feb. 19, 2013

The Metal Gear Solid franchise isn’t afraid to take chances. Metal Gear is known for one of the most robust and surreal storylines ever expressed in video games, and this month’s Metal Gear Rising: Revengeancecontinues that legacy.

In Revengeance, the player assumes the role of Raiden, a cyborg member of a private military corporation. Raiden was the main character of 2001’s Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, replacing Solid Snake the protagonist of all the other games.

The game’s own history remains a bit muddled, as it was set to be produced by Kojima Productions, which was responsible for many other Metal Gear titles. However, the team ran into problems due to the change from gunplay to swordplay, and it was cancelled.

The game was revived in 2011 with Platinum Games, which has numerous other action titles under its belt, such as Bayonetta, MadWorld and Vanquish. It evolved from Metal Gear Solid: Rising, a game intended to take place between Sons of Liberty and 2008’s Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, to Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance. The plot and setting also changed.

“I was surprised in a positive way by (how) Platinum Games destroyed the frame we were working with for Metal Gear Rising,” said Yuji Korekado, who served as the game’s lead producer. While the Kojima Productions studio was rooted in their concept of a Metal Gear game, the extra perspective was welcomed.

Article Continued Below

“When we started working with Platinum Games, they loved the Metal Gear games, but more than that they’re really proud of how they work in action games, and they made a lot of very interesting proposals as to what they think is fun or what the players will really enjoy,” said Korekado.

Raiden’s inclusion in Sons of Liberty was a complete surprise to gamers in 2002, and was met with controversy: his androgynous appearance was a far cry from Snake, who was inspired by actors such as Kurt Russell in Escape from New York, Mel Gibson in Lethal Weapon and Michael Biehn in The Terminator.

Revengeance may be a response to that criticism, as Raiden’s good looks have given way to cybernetic enhancements, robotic limbs and a metal jaw. Revengeance marks a large change from the normal pace of the series — slow, sneaking gameplay is largely eschewed for fast, violent action.

One unique addition to Revengeance is Blade Mode, which enables Raiden to precisely slice at enemies. Limbs and other body parts can be cut off, either through button presses or precise swipes of a control stick.

“Putting something like Blade Mode into an action game was very difficult to balance. (In) a fast-paced, uptempo game such as this one, adding Blade Mode actually makes time go slower,” Korekado said.

“It’s difficult to balance that without putting some stress into the player. If you play the game now, we believe that we’ve accomplished that and it feels good, and this goes completely to Platinum Games credit.”

Katanas are a big part of the game, as Raiden’s reliance on the weapon keeps him from taking out enemies from a distance.

“It gives variation for how the player approached battle. For example, he can choose to defeat half of the enemies with stealth, and the other half up front. If it’s a player that really only enjoys action games, he can [also] kill all of them from the front,” Korekado said.

“We are Japanese. Growing up we had a lot of entertainment involving katanas: TV shows, manga, [and] anime that show this kind of action. We grew up in that — we grew up knowing katanas. So we are very confident that when it comes to entertainment with katanas that we are the number one in the world.”

Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance will be released February 19 for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

More from the Toronto Star & Partners

LOADING

Copyright owned or licensed by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or distribution of this content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Toronto Star Newspapers Limited and/or its licensors. To order copies of Toronto Star articles, please go to: www.TorontoStarReprints.com